Winegrapes
Viticulture is the science and practice of cultivating grapes for production of fruit. The term comes from the botanical genus Vitis, of which there are about 60 known species, including Vitis vinifera-the species grown in California for wine. Because V. vinifera is susceptible to the root pest Phylloxera, rootstocks of other Vitis species are used and Vitis vinifera is grafted onto the top of these rootstocks.
Growers in the Central Sierra foothills have been cultivating wine grapes since before the Gold Rush. The region's variation in elevation, topography and soils are consistent with some of the best growing areas in the world. These conditions create a prime opportunity for growing a wide range of wine grape varieties.
University of California Web Resources
Cost and Return Studies, Department of Agriculture and Resource Economics - Cost and Return Studies.
Foundation Plant Services Grape Program, FPS provides researchers and industry with healthy, true-to-variety grapevine planting stock.
Grape Pest Management, UC IPM
Hot Topics
UC Davis Releases 5 New Wine Grape Varieties
Plants Are Resistant to Deadly Pierce’s Disease
For the first time since the 1980s, University of California, Davis, researchers have released new varieties of wine grapes. The five new varieties, three red and two white, are highly resistant to Pierce’s disease, which costs California grape growers more than $100 million a year. The new, traditionally bred varieties also produce high-quality fruit and wine.